‘Dead man’s’ bail application postponed

After a dramatic battle between the state and the defence in the case of the man accused of faking his own death, court proceedings ended with the case being postponed once again. The man, who is in his 30s, was declared dead on 15 December 2015, after his burnt-out vehicle was found in the Free State.

The defence led the bail proceedings with a statement from the accused saying it was the Steyn family – Marinda, Marcel and Leroux – who committed fraud and that he had no part in faking his own death in order to claim the life insurance money. The Steyns are currently standing accused of murdering three Krugersdorpers during May this year, and the two cases have been centralised, which means there is a suspect common to all the cases.

Accused plays the blame game:

The accused stated that he was not aware that he was presumed to be dead as he was on a camp in the Magaliesburg. He claims it was Marinda Steyn who suggested that he should go on holiday. He also stated that it was Steyn who made an effort to claim the insurance money after a vehicle – registered to the accused – was found containing the burnt body of a man, and he was not part of it. He further alleged that the man who was found had committed suicide and had not been murdered. On this basis, the accused denied all charges against him and applied for bail.

Witnesses called:

The defence led the bail application proceedings by bringing in two witnesses to testify in favour of the accused. The accused’s father took the stand first. The defence asked questions concerning the father’s relationship with his son. The defence also claimed that the accused’s father had been approached by the investigating officer and told his son he needed to plead guilty.

The investigating officer denied the allegations, whereupon the state questioned the accused’s recollection of such a conversation as he claimed he could not remember details of it.

The state then questioned the intensity of the father and son relationship. The state brought to the court’s attention that in the six months between the presumed death of the accused and the day he was arrested, he had not contacted his parents once to confirm that he was still alive. The defence had called this witness as he could possibly provide refuge for the accused if he were granted bail.

The state pointed out that the accused is 31 years old and his father had not known of his whereabouts while he was presumed to be dead. The state also said that the father would be unable to control his son if he were granted bail and lived with his parents for the time being.

To build a stronger bail case, the second witness was called. This was a woman who claimed to be involved in a group that serves food to homeless and addicted people. She testified that the accused had helped serve food to these people during the time he was presumed to be dead. She also said the group would grant the accused the opportunity to resume his work should he be granted bail.

The state opposed this suggestion, pointing out that the accused was involved in more than one murder case and that letting him be near vulnerable citizens such as addicts would be like “setting the cat among the pigeons”.

Accused’s relationship with Marinda Steyn:

The state then released a statement saying that the investigating officer had other information regarding the nature of the relationship between Marinda Steyn, who is accused of murdering approximately a dozen people over an extended period of time, and the accused in this hearing.

The statement revealed disturbing facts, including that the accused had pasted a photo of himself on an identity document and for the time he was presumed dead, used that ID to identify himself. It was also made clear that the body that was found in the burnt-out vehicle was a homeless man who had sought refuge from both the Steyns and the accused, and had made a few visits to the place where the accused assisted with dishing out food.

It was also brought to the magistrate’s attention that the accused had made Steyn the sole beneficiary of his life insurance policy only months before his disappearance.

After the statement was read, the defence asked that the court be adjourned so that he could give appropriate attention to the allegations made by the state.

Another accused threatened:

In a dramatic turn of events, the state also brought to the magistrate’s attention that the accused had allegedly made a move against one of the other accused. The claim stated that the accused had tried to poison one of the other accused – allegedly with ‘Two-step’ – to prevent him giving his statement against the Steyns. The state subsequently requested that the accused be moved from the Krugersdorp Prison to the Johannesburg Prison to keep him from hurting those who wish to give statements against him, or any of the others involved in the case.

Nearly three hours passed as the state and defence tried to defend their cases. In the end, the case was postponed to Monday, 24 October in the Krugersdorp Magistrates’ Court.

The accused, now named as Zak Valentine, will remain in custody until this date in the Johannesburg Prison.

Read more:

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Update: Steyn siblings laugh in court

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